Silent Footsteps
by SecretWriter2010
Summary: The wizarding world was torn apart when the Dark Lord gained power. The Marauders, Lily, and James's twin sister Charlotte felt that they could not just stand back and let Lord Voldermort win the war. This story takes place from their last year at Hogwarts up until Halloween night at Godric's Hollow. Rated M just to be safe. Please Read & Review!
1. Chapter 1

PROLOGUE

My heels click on the concrete as I all but run down the sidewalk. I am covered in the darkness of night, allowing it to blanket me from the watchful eyes of any muggles who may still be awake at such a late hour. I can feel the warm trickle of blood running down the side of my face from the deep gash above my right eyebrow. The cut burns and stings, but I ignore the pain as I listen to the loud thumps of my heart in my ears. Everything else around me is silent in the dead of night.

A small gust of wind tousles my long, curly black hair and I feel a strand catch in my bleeding cut. However, my arms are laden and I cannot stop to adjust so that my hand is free to move my hair. My blue eyes have not yet adjusted to the pitch-black darkness; a darkness that I know has been caused by magic. However I know where I am going regardless, having walked this path several times before in case what happened tonight ever occurred.

I had spent several sleepless nights hoping that the events of this night would never transpire.

I take a sharp left and find myself down a side street. Knowing I am almost at the meeting place I slow my pace, trying to savor the last few moments of somewhat normalcy. Granted my life had been anything but normal for the past 7 years.

One lonely streetlight shines dully, a marker as to where I am supposed to go. The light casts a light glow and I find myself almost stopping as I look down at the young child I am holding in my arms. The light illuminates his small baby face and his soft jet-black baby hair. His eyes are closed, the stress of what he witnessed tonight draining all of his energy. One of his small hands clasps onto my index finger that I had used to rub soothing circles on his cheeks. I had watched his mother do the same thing countless times in order to stop his tears and calm him.

Slowly adjusting him in my arms as not to wake him, I remove my finger from his grasp. With one hand now free I softly push back his hair, biting my bottom lip in anger and resentment as I see the mark on his forehead. Gently, I run my fingertips over the mark, pulling back as I feel blood smear across my fingertips. My light touch causes him to stir slightly but not wake up.

As I near the light post I see a figure standing beside it dressed in a wizards cloak. Lifting my eyes from the sleeping child I walk the last few feet until I stop beside the man.

"Dumbledore," I say in greeting as I focus on the line of houses a head of me, but not truly seeing them.

"Charlotte," I hear him speak my name.

Breathing sharply through my nose, my nostrils flaring as I turn to face the powerful wizard. I am met with sympathetic blue eyes, but they are not directed at me but instead at the child in my arms.

"It is a hardship to have such a loss at such a young age." Dumbledore states before he finally looks up at me, knowing full well that I had suffered a similar instance at the tender age of 5.

I look down at the child. "Yes well he is far stronger than I ever was and ever will be."

I glance up to see Dumbledore looking at me, his long silver hair and beard slightly blowing as another gust of wind rushes past us.

"Strength is not the only thing needed for perseverance Charlotte. I have told you that many times." Dumbledore states.

"You sound like the Sorting Hat." I say, a small smile gracing my lips.

"Yes well for an inanimate object the Sorting Hat is quite wise." Dumbledore mirrors my own small smile, but it vanishes quickly. "Are you certain that you want to do this Charlotte?"

I can see true concern in the old man's eyes.

"Do I truly have a choice?" I ask as I look down at the sleeping child in my arms. "In order to keep him safe this is the best option for him. You and I both know he can't stay in the wizarding world and truly be safe."

"There will come a time when he will find out about magic Charlotte."

"I know," I say as I look up at Dumbledore. "In 10 years time he will be leaving for Hogwarts and will be under your protection. Until then we will have to thrust that his aunt and uncle can care for him."

"They aren't his only family Charlotte, just remember that." Dumbledore says looking at me sadly.

"I never will forget it," I say as I lean down and kiss the mark on the baby's forehead. It is oddly shaped like a lightening bolt. "Harry will just never know that."

My final words are drowned out as I hear the all to familiar rumbling of a motorcycle. I look up in the night sky to see its bright headlights. I can tell that its usual driver does not control the bike as it lands and comes skidding to a stop in front of us. The man on the bike is huge, and even in my grief I can't stop a small smile from forming as I look at the Hogwart's Grounds Keeper Hagrid.

"Dumbledore," He says looking at the older wizard. "Charlotte," He says as he looks at me with raw sadness as he gazes at me with Harry in my arms.

"Hello Hagrid," I say as I slowly approach the motorcycle.

I take a deep breath as I ready myself to hand Harry over, never knowing if I will see him ever again.

Leaning down I whisper in his small ear as he sleeps, "Aunt Char will always love you Harry."

Feeling the tears begin to build I willed them to stop as I gently handed Harry over to Hagrid. Glancing over at Dumbledore I gave him a small nod. He looked at me nodding back, knowing that this could possibly be the last time he ever saw me.

Knowing I shouldn't but unable to stop myself I take one last look at Harry in Hagrid's arms. I am surprised and momentarily stunned when I see that his eyes are open and that he is awake. I look at him and see so much of his parents in him. He has his mother's almond shaped green eyes and his black hair is already showing signs of being unruly like his father's hair. I smile sadly as I think of Lily and James Potter, two lives taken by the Dark Lord on this dark night.

One of them was my best friend at Hogwarts and the other my older brother.

Giving Harry one last look I turn around thinking of where I want to go and with a pop, apparate in the dead of night.

**AN: Just the Prologue for the beginning of the story. It will mostly focus on Lily, Charlotte, and the Marauders' final year at Hogwarts up to the death of James and Lily. Feel free to review and I hope that y'all enjoy the story! **

**Wishing y'all happy reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

5 Years Earlier…

Twirling my wand between my fingers I look out at the countryside speeding past the Hogwarts Express. First and second year students are running past my compartment laughing and screaming in excitement. After 6 years at Hogwarts the thrill of returning to Hogwarts has waned slightly. My final year at Hogwarts is set to begin in the next week and I am having mixed emotions about my education coming to an end. I am elated to find a life in the wizarding world outside of school, but at the same time I am also terrified because of the recent turmoil that had began to make the front page of the Daily Prophet. I glance down at the latest copy of the Daily Prophet that is laid out on the seat next to me. The front cover shows a moving photograph of a burning home with the headline, **10 Muggles Killed in Fire, Marked by the Dark Mark. **Dark magic was beginning to spread and leave behind it a trail of mutilated and dead bodies.

I reach a hand up to run my fingers through my long, curly black hair, a nervous habit of mine I had picked up from my mother when I was just 2 years old. I glance around the empty compartment that I currently occupy. Trunks belonging to my absent friends and myself are stored in the overhead compartment above the seats. Curled up in the seat across from me, bathing in the sunlight as it slept soundly, is a golden colored cat that belongs to one of my friends. The only time that cat wasn't hissing at me was when it was sleeping.

Turning away from the windows I look out through the glass compartment door and over at the compartment across the way. Four young men are seated in the compartment. I know them all well, having watched them grow from boys into men since their time at Hogwarts. One of them, a boy with black hair and eyes the same exact shade of blue as mine, I have watched grown since birth. Most people would say that having a twin is a blessing in disguise and I would have to agree with that. When we were younger my brother, James and I were not particularly close. I guess the reason for our distance had to do mostly with the death of our mother when we were just five years old. The two of us handled the loss of our mother very differently and it was not until the end of our fifth year at Hogwarts that we really sat down and reconnected as siblings. We both came to realize that we had grown up to become two very different people that wanted the same things out of life, happiness and stability. Two things that had been missing in our lives due to the loss of a parent.

I see that sitting next to my brother is his best mate, Sirius Black. He has been my constant tormentor, somewhat friend, and somewhat protector since he befriended James upon our arrival at Hogwarts. Sirius and I have what could be described as a perplexing relationship. I was indifferent towards him while he on the other hand had always been what some would describe as his true self in my presence. I have never put up with his and James' childish antics and for that he seemed to have a small amount of respect for me. He didn't try to use his normal masculine charm on me like he did the other girls at Hogwarts that constantly swooned over his light green eyes and dark hair. I have a suspicion that Sirius understood me well enough not to bullshit me.

Sitting across from James and Sirius were Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin. Peter is a quiet fellow who keeps mostly to himself. I believe in the entirety of our time at Hogwarts we had exchanged less than ten words with each other. Even though he did not say much to me I have often caught him staring at me when he thinks that I am not looking. His muddy brown eyes always cause a shiver to run up my spine when our eyes lock before he turns away. It is not a good kind of shiver.

Remus and I get on quite well. We often study together in the library, using each other as a support system when we have a paper or exam coming up. I consider him to be my friend because out of all the Marauders, the name that James has bestowed upon the group, he is the most reasonable. While Remus may have partaken in some of the Marauders' jokes and pranks during his younger years he had all but stopped when he became a Prefect. One night in the library Remus had confided in me that no one had bestowed any kind of responsibility like that upon him before and that he wanted to take his Prefect duties seriously. I knew why it meant so much to him. I had stumbled upon his secret one night during my fifth year when I had snuck out onto the grounds late at night to meet a seventh year Hufflepuff boy. What I had encountered that night, and narrowly escaped, was Remus transforming under the light of a full moon. Sirius and James had both spotted me at the exact same moment, tearing towards me with such speed that James grabbed my wrist without stopping and hauled me off to safety. After the ordeal Remus had come to me ashamed of his secret and afraid that I like so many others would exile him from my life. However with a comforting hug I had reassured him that his secret was safe with me and to this day I had never told another living soul.

I am about to turn away from looking in on their compartment when James catches my eye. He smiles at me and pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Unlike him I am blessed with perfect vision and do not have to resort to wearing glasses. I see James point at something beside me. I look down, realizing that he is gesturing at the Daily Prophet. I had promised him before we boarded the train that I would let him read the paper after I finished doing so. I nod back at him and stand up, scooping up the newspaper. I open my compartment door and step out into the train hallway and let the door slide shut behind me loudly. I hear a loud meow and hiss from the compartment and turn to see that I had awoken the sleeping cat that was now staring at me with malice. What I ever did to that cat I would never know.

James opens the door to his compartment from his seat and gestures for me to come in. I step inside and he lets the door slide shut as I take a seat beside Remus. I reach across and hand the Daily Prophet to James who takes it from me and moves it around so he can read the cover story headline.

"I see things are getting worse." James comments with a grim expression on his face.

Sirius leans over to read the headline, his expression mirroring that of James'.

"At least at your house articles like these aren't getting praised on a daily basis." Sirius comments as his runs a frustrated hand through his hair.

Sirius had spent the majority of his summer holiday with James and I at our family's estate off the coast of Wales. We had the place to ourselves, something James and I had been use to since we were fifteen and our father began to spend less and less time with us. Granted he never spent too much time with us to begin with. James and I had taken after our mother, especially me, and our father had not handled the loss of our mother well. I don't think he blamed us, I just think that when he looked at James and I he couldn't help but feel the agony he felt when he lost his wife so unexpectedly and tragically. Growing up we were mostly under the care of our grandmother until she passed away when we were fifteen and at that age our father felt that we were able to take care of ourselves. Sirius began to stay with us during the holidays after he had shown up one day sporting a nasty black eye. James and I had both instantly taken him in, letting him unload on us and telling us how his father had gotten physical with him after Sirius had refused to brand himself with something called the dark mark. At the time the Dark Lord was just beginning to gain a following and the outbreak of violence was small compared to what it was now.

"How were things when you went back?" I ask Sirius. I was referring to the trip he took home a few days ago in order to retrieve a few things for school.

"Peachy as always," Sirius says glancing over at me. "My little brother now wears the Dark Mark on his forearm like a trophy. My parents are very proud of him at the moment. Calling him the prodigal son whenever they had the opportunity to do so." Sirius spits out the last part angrily.

I knew Sirius' younger brother Regulus. By some odd twist of fate and the Black's inability to correctly formulate family planning, Regulus barely made the cut off date for our year. He was a member of the Slytherin house and unfortunately for him my Potions partner my sixth year. Potions was not my strong suit and on more than one occasion Regulus had to tackle me to the ground before our cauldron exploded. It was a miracle that both of us had passed the class. During one late night in the library while working on a Potions paper together because I needed all the help I could get, Regulus had paused looked at me and asked me a question that had thrown me off guard. He asked me if I believed that we were the masters of our own fates. I had sat there quietly pondering his question before I told him that yes I believed that we are the masters of our own fates as long as we believed it ourselves. Regulus had nodded, smiled softly at me and continued on with his work.

I wonder if he had truly believed that becoming a Death Eater, as the followers of the Dark Lord were called, was his true fate.

"That's a shame," I say looking at Sirius. "Regulus always seemed like he had more good in him than anything else."

Sirius looks at me, fixing me with a cool gaze. "The only thing my brother has in him is the blood of two pure blood loving bastards." He hisses.

"So do you and you turned out fine." I snap back.

"Oh Char," Sirius says leaning towards me, using the nickname only he calls me by because he thinks Charlotte is too formal. "If only you knew half of what goes on in my twisted mind."

My eyes lock with Sirius. He is giving me a look that I have only been on the receiving end of a handful of times. It is a look that seemed to stare right through me, as if seeing every part of me. I always felt vulnerable under this gaze, feeling as if I am standing naked in front of him, allowing Sirius to see the covered curves and dips of my feminine body. When Sirius looks at me like this I always feel like he can see every part of me, the real me.

I hear the compartment door sliding open beside me.

"There you are Charlotte! Alice and I have been wondering where you had run off to."

I snap myself away from Sirius' gaze and look up to see my best friend, Lily leaning against the compartment door smiling down at me.

"Well I was bound to wonder off for as long as it took for you and Alice to go change into your robes." I respond as I smirk at Lily. I can see James out of the corner of my eye giving Lily a long lingering look before he forces himself to go back to looking at the Daily Prophet.

My brother has been in love with my best friend Lily for as long as I can remember. Even during our first year when Lily and I had begun a friendship because the number of first year Gryffindor girls had been limited to only five that year. The other three girls had been pleasant enough but they had already formed a friendship that Lily and I both felt that we could not be a part of. Since first year Lily and I had been inseparable. Our friend Alice joined us during our second year when she was sorted into Gryffindor as a first year. Even though she was a year younger than us Alice always seemed to be the voice of reason amongst the three of us.

At first I always thought that James had been attracted to Lily because of her good looks. She was by far one of the prettier girls at Hogwarts with dark green eyes and red hair. My suspicion that James was only physically attracted to Lily began to increase as we grew older and Lily filled out nicely. However, during a long all night conversation James and I had shared during our fifth year in front of the dying Gryffindor common room fire I had discovered that James' attraction to Lily was far deeper than just looks. To put it simply my brother loves her and feels a connection between them that he cannot deny. I knew he was not bullshitting me when he told me what he felt for Lily was exactly how our father had described feeling about our mother. And I knew James was serious if he was reliving any kind of fond memory he had of our parents.

I have never discussed James' feelings with Lily having not wanted to play matchmaker. I know in time they will eventually grow closer as we grew older and James matures some. I had seen a great change in my brother since the beginning of our sixth year. I think that all of the turmoil happening in the wizarding world has made him think about what he wants to do after Hogwarts. I know that I am not the only one noticing a change in him. Often times I catch Lily looking at him intensely at the other end of the dinner table or during class she will sneak glances at him. Like James I know that the two of them are meant to play an important role in each other's lives.

"Sorry about that," Lily says. "We ran into Frank Longbottom and you know how Alice gets whenever she is in his presence."

I smile at Lily nodding my head. I have been with Alice on more than one occasion when she had run into Frank Longbottom. He was a nice, quiet seventh year Hufflepuff boy that I had interacted with a few times with on the Quidditch field after a match between our two houses.

"Yes well now that you two are back I should probably go change into my robes since we are only about an hour out." I say standing up and looking at the four boys who are still in their street clothes. "I would advise you four gentlemen to do the same."

"Why? I think Professor Slughorn would get a kick out of my Grateful Dead t-shirt." James jokes as he tugs on the bottom of the hideous shirt.

"Slughorn might but I think Professor McGonagall would blow a gasket." I tease.

"Minerva and I get along quite well I will have you know." James says giving me a full-fledged smile.

"I don't even want to know what you are insinuating James." I turn to Lily. "Lets go before that one scars our virgin ears." I say pointing at James and ushering her out of the compartment. The door closes behind us and I can hear the four of them chuckling.

Lily and I open our own compartment door. Alice is sprawled out on one of the seats sucking on a sugar quill and petting her cat that hisses and arches its back the moment I make my return.

"Shhhhhhhh Marbles," Alice coos to her cat. "You and I both know that Charlotte is more afraid of you than you are of her." Alice teases as she looks up at me with her bright baby blue eyes and smiles.

"I am going to pretend that you did not just say that." I mumble as I reach up into the overhead bins and rummage around my trunk for a set of my robes and uniform.

"You are no fun sometimes Charlotte." Alice giggles as she scratches Marbles behind one of his ears. Lily sits down on the seat across from Alice. The cat perks up at Lily's appearance and jumps from its spot next to Alice and onto the floor so that it can rub itself against Lily's legs. I can hear it purring.

"Cats are weird creatures sometimes." I mumble as I shut my trunk and lock it. "I'll be back." I say before I open the compartment door and walk out into the train hallway.

We had chosen a compartment in the back of the train because it was usually where the majority of the upper classmen sat during the journey to and from Hogwarts. I look into several compartments as I pass filled with people. A couple of sixth year Ravenclaw boys have enchanted some of the treats they had bought from the trolley and are now having Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans whirl around the room in intricate patterns. I have a feeling that by the end of the train ride one of them will end up at the infirmary for having a jellybean lodged in their ears or nose.

I find an empty lady's changing room and slip inside locking the door behind me. Stripping out of the jeans and plain white t-shirt I had worn to board the train I place them on the counter as I wiggle into my uniform skirt and button up my plain white oxford shirt. Grabbing my red and gold necktie I sloppily tie it as best I can before I slip into my robes. Sitting down on the lid of the toilet I take off my old worn sandals and pull on my knee high white socks and slip into a simple pair of black flats. I stand up and wash my hands quickly. Looking at my reflection in the mirror I see that my hair is a slight mess and I quickly toss it into a messy ponytail. Picking up my discarded clothes and shoes I unlock the door and open it.

I make my way back towards my train compartment, moving out of the way of a group of giggling seventh year Slytherin girls who push a head of me and open a compartment door and slip inside. I roll my eyes at their lack of manners as I walk past the compartment they had just entered. I look inside as I pass, letting my curiosity get the better of me. I cringe as I see that the girls who had just passed me are giggling at something that Lucius Malfoy is saying. Even though his back is to me I can tell that it is him because his long blonde hair is tied back with a black velvet ribbon. I see that his usual group of comrades surrounds him. Malfoy and his group of friends are rumored to have a close tie to the current out break of dark magic that is plaguing the wizarding world. Malfoy was not someone who I was ever really fond of no matter how many times he backed me into a corner in the dungeons and cooed in my ears how us pure bloods needed to stick together to preserve the wizarding world. However, he hadn't attempted to corner me since the middle of last year when Sirius had found us and about ripped him limb from limb when he saw how terrified I was. I can hear Malfoy let out a barking laugh inside of the compartment and I roll my eyes again as I walk away and head towards my compartment.

Once I am back inside our compartment and I have stored all of my clothes back in my trunk I sit next to Lily who has Marbles curled up in her lap sleeping. The cat does not stir as I sit and for the remainder of our journey to Hogwarts we sit and discuss our plans and goals for the coming year. For Lily and I it will be our last year at Hogwarts and for Alice her second to last year. We laugh together as we come up with absurd scenarios in which Frank Longbottom would ask Alice out on a date. Alice is a good sport about our teasing but I can see a light blush of embarrassment color her cheeks as we pull into Hogwarts station.

We stand up and exit our compartment leaving our trunks and Marbles behind to be taken care of by the use of magic. The hallways are packed as we make our way towards an exit. I can see the back of James' messy hair up a head of us before he ducks through an exit. Lily, Alice, and I are one of the last ones to leave the train and follow the other second through seventh years towards the area where the carriages wait to take us to Hogwarts. As we draw closer and closer I can feel myself filling with a sense of dread that I have felt every year since I first embarked on one of these carriages.

Myself, Lily, and Alice find ourselves in a clearing where there stood a number of carriages. Students mill around, laughing and chatting as they wait to climb onto one of the carriages that will take them towards the castle. My friends follow behind me, knowing that I was very particular about which carriage we can ride in. I find the right one and stand in line behind a group of forth years. Alice and Lily chat behind me about how much they were starving as the line moves forward. I tune out the noise around me for the most part just looking straight ahead, past the carriages and out at the lake. I can see the small lanterns of the first year boats as they make their way towards the castle. When it was finally our turn to board the carriage I can hear Alice and Lily become quiet behind me sensing what was about to come.

Taking a deep breath I turn towards the carriage we are about to board for the first time. I can feel their dark hooded eyes on me before I see them standing their attached to the carriage. There are four of them, all skeletal looking with their wings tucked in, their black reptilian faces a fearsome sight to see.

Threstrals.

I step forward slowly my eyes locked with the one nearest to me. It cocks its head to the side, examining me, realizing that I am one of the few that can actually see it. With a shaking hand I reach up to hoist myself into the carriage my eyes never leaving those of the black Threstral I now stare at.

I can see them when many others cannot.

I have been able to see Threstals since I was five years old and I hid under a bed and watched as a man was murdering my mother.

A man who is now known by the entire wizarding world as the Dark Lord.

**AN: Thank you to everyone who has been reading thus far! I am excited to get this story rolling and will hopefully have one to two updates a week depending on my schedule! Please feel free to review! As always thanks y'all!**


	3. Chapter 3

I walk into the Great Hall the morning of my first day of classes to see that I am one of a few students who are already up for breakfast. I sit down at one of the end tables, placing my book bag on the bench beside me. A few other Gryffindor are seated near by, the majority of them eating by themselves as they read something from a textbook. I fill my plate with some scrambled eggs and bacon. I'm not much of a breakfast person but learned a long time ago that having your stomach make weird noises during class is both distracting and annoying. I pull my schedule out of my bag and glance over it once more making sure I have the correct books in my bag before I switch them out at lunch. I absent mindedly bite off a piece of the bacon I am holding when a loud thud of a book bag being dropped on the seat across from where I am sitting startles me. I look up to see Sirius sitting down.

"Good morning Char," Sirius says as he begins to pile his plate full of food.

I watch him; my lips slightly parted as I take in what is Sirius Black at breakfast time, something I have never witnessed this up close and personal.

"Good morning to you as well Sirius." I say as I take in his rumbled robes and uniform. I also notice that he has slight dark circles under his eyes and it appears that he has yet to shave. "You okay?" I ask looking at him concerned.

"Just peachy," Sirius says as he butters a piece of toast and takes a bite out of it.

"You look like you didn't sleep well last night." I point out as I take a sip from my cup of coffee.

Sirius drops his fork and looks at me. "Kind of hard to sleep when you have a girl on top of you screaming your name all night long."

I blink, not having expected him to say something like that and I can feel my stomach start to form knots for some odd reason. I look away from him and reach for a piece of toast and some jam. "Forget I even said anything then." I mumble as I focus on spreading jam evenly across my piece of toast.

We sit in silence. While Sirius and I are on good terms, he didn't interact with me very often. Even when he stayed at our place during the summer I would usually only have a run in with him once a day. We often times ran into each other in the hallway since our rooms were situated across from each other. Even then though it was usually just a simple hello and how are you today exchanged between us. Our relationship is complex and we often tip toe around labeling it for what it really is, one messed up friendship.

"You have Transfiguration first thing I see." Sirius states. I look up at him and see him eyeing my schedule beside me on the table, noticing for the first time that he has his own rumbled schedule in his hand and is comparing it with mine. "We have Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions together." He says looking at me.

I nod my head at him as I nibble on my piece of toast and drink my now lukewarm coffee. The silence between Sirius and I is interrupted when I hear the flutter of wings and the hooting of owls over head. I look up to see that a small flock of owls bearing newspapers and letters are flying overhead. I spot my owl Athena, a gift from my father during my first year at Hogwarts, coming towards me. She swoops down dropping my copy of the Daily Prophet beside me as well as a letter. I watch her circle back around towards me and land gracefully on my shoulder.

"Good morning to you beautiful," I coo at her as she hoots happily and nuzzles my cheek with her snow white feathers. I know what she wants and pick up a piece of toast to give to her. She hoots gleefully as she snatches the toast from my out stretched hand and takes flight again. I watch her until she has vanished from sight.

I turn back towards Sirius and notice that he has confiscated my copy of the Daily Prophet. I am about to demand it back and tell him to get his own subscription when I notice the look on his face. Sirius' face flashes with a variety of emotions. I can see anger, hurt, sadness, betrayal, and rage flash across his face. He stands up suddenly causing the bench he was sitting on to topple over with a loud bang. I watch as his books and several rolls of parchment and quills spill out of his bag. The Great Hall has become dead silent as everyone focuses their attention on Sirius. I look up at him. Sirius is standing up his nostrils flaring, his fists clenched.

Without a word Sirius rushes out of the Great Hall. I look down at the copy of the Daily Prophet that Sirius has left behind. On the cover is a moving photo of a middle aged looking man with black hair. Above the photo in bold print it reads, **Muggle Born Wizard Edward Tonks Found Dead in Home, Marked for Death by the Dark Mark. **Cursing under my breath I pick up my copy of the Daily Prophet and the letter I received and shove them in my bag. I stand up slinging my bag over my shoulder and rush towards the exit of the Great Hall. As I am about to leave I pass Lily and Alice who are just coming in. They take one look at me noticing the concern look on my face and stop.

"What's wrong," Lily demands as she catches my arm to force me to stand still and talk to her.

"Sirius rushed out of here like a bat out of hell when he saw the cover story of the Daily Prophet today and I'm worried about what he is going to do." I hurriedly explain, my eyes scanning the long hallway and spotting Sirius' retreating form, "Lily we have Transfiguration together right?" I ask quickly.

Lily nods her head.

"Sirius dropped all his books and stuff can you pack it all back up and bring it to class?" I ask as I remove my arm from her grasp, readying myself to sprint down the long hall in order to catch up to Sirius.

"Of course," Lily says looking at me. "Now go."

I take her words to heart and start sprinting down the hallway as best I can with a heavy book bag. I see Sirius turn a corner and know that if I don't catch up soon I will lose sight of him. Building momentum I run faster until I am at the end of the hallway and taking the same corner that Sirius did. I should still be able to catch him. I round the corner and stop when I find the hallway empty except for rows of armor on both sides and a few doorways. I let out a loud sigh, my shoulders slumping as I let my book bag fall to the floor. I brush the few strands of my hair that had escaped my messy ponytail behind my ears.

Letting out another loud sigh I pick my bag off of the ground and check my watch. I only have about 20 minutes till class starts, however, the Transfiguration classroom is a distance from where I currently find myself standing. Adjusting my book back I turn to head back in the direction I came from when I hear a soft sound. Stopping in my tracks I turn back around and hear the same sound again. I cannot decipher exactly what the sound is but I slowly make my way to where I think the sound is coming from. I peek my head around one of the dark, narrow doorways and feel my heart stop.

"Sirius," I whisper as I drop my book bag on the ground.

Sirius is seated on the ground, his knees pulled up to his chest and he is covering his face with his hands. I now realize that the soft sounds I had been hearing were his muffled sobs.

I slowly walk forward and lower myself on the ground beside him. My shoulder grazes his and I can feel his body trembling. I look at him, my mouth hanging open uncertain of what to do. Not once had I ever seen Sirius Black exert so much emotion. I had also never really been comforted before when I was sad, except for by my mother when I was young. My father had never been good at showing affection and I have never cried in front of James. Remembering vaguely what my mother us to do, I move closer to Sirius until our shoulders are touching. I then reach out one of hands and gently rub his back in small soothing circles like my mother use to. I feel Sirius stiffen under my touch before he finally relaxes. His sobs die down and soon the only sound is his heavy breathing. I watch him, still uncertain of what to do as his hands slowly fall to his side. Sirius turns towards me slowly, looking at me with sad, almost lifeless eyes. I watch him, reaching out slowly as not to startle him as I gently brush away a few stray tears.

"He has a daughter, she's only six." Sirius says staring ahead blankly at the wall in front of us. "He married my cousin Andromeda when they were both really young. My family was outraged of course. A pure blood witch marrying a muggle born wizard, it was the scandal of the century for my family. The entire family ended up shunning her, except for me of course. I really admired what she did, doing what she wanted instead of what the family expected like so many others had done. Edward was a wonderful man, a great husband and father to Nymphadora. He took me in with open arms a lot when I was younger and my parents were abusive. Edward always told me that no matter what that him and Andromeda were my family and would protect me. He was everything I had ever wanted in a father figure and I can't believe he's gone. Edward didn't deserve to die like that, at the hands of dark magic."

I sit there, listening, staring at the same wall as Sirius.

"I know sorry doesn't make things better Sirius, but I'm sorry." I whisper. I can feel his body tense next to me. "A loss like that, a loss at the hands of dark magic, you'll never truly be able to get over that."

Sirius snaps his head towards me, a sneer on his face. "And what does little Charlotte Potter know about dark magic and the destruction it can cause?" Sirius spits angrily at me.

I look at him, blinking several times. I stare deeply at the hard and angry lines of his face. He is hurting I know this. I had been in his place once before.

I turn my attention back towards the wall in front of me and take a deep breath, "I don't really remember that much about my mother." I say looking ahead. "I remember little things like that she use to braid my hair every morning, while singing to me in French. With James she would tie his shoes for him and tell him riddles in German. My father once said that she wanted us to be bilingual since she grew up in a mixed French and German household. She wanted to give us a piece of her childhood." I smile softly at the memories. "I've always been told that I look exactly like her but when I look at the images I just don't see it." I glance over at Sirius and see that he is now looking at me. I focus my attention back on the wall in front of us.

"I-I was five when she was killed," I say swallowing the lump I can feel building in my throat. It is a mixture of sadness and fear at reliving the memory. A memory I tried so hard to forget. "My father and James had been out. He was taking James to his first professional Quidditch match and as it turned out it was also the last one he would ever take James to." I run my fingers through my hair, feeling my hands shaking lightly. "We were in my parent's bedroom, my mother had this chair, I don't remember what it looks like or anything I just remember that it was large and comfortable and that she use to read stories to us in it. She had been reading me some wizard fairy tale when we heard the sound of the front door opening and closing, James and my father had just left and thinking that they had forgotten something my mother left me sitting in the chair, telling me that she would be right back. I sat there waiting, looking at the book my mother had left resting on one of the arms of the chair when I heard a loud crash coming from the entrance of our house. I crawled down from the chair, and stood in the middle of the room when my mother came rushing back in. She looked frantic and quickly locked the bedroom door with magic. My mother looked at me with wide, terrified eyes and ushered me under the bed. Just as I crawl under and I am fully concealed the door burst open."

I can feel the tears building up at this point and instead of trying to hold them back like I always do I let them fall down my face. " I am able to see from underneath the bed and I can her my mother pleading begging, sobbing hysterically. The man that has entered our home demands that my mother tell him where it is and as my mother sobs that she does not know what he means h-he casts a Cruciatus curse on her."

At this point my body begins to shake, my vision blurred by my tears as I continue looking at the wall. "She fell to the ground, screaming in agony, facing me and my eyes locked with hers. I held back screams as I watched my mother being tortured with the Cruciatus curse. She whispered my name and James's right before the man used the Killing curse on her," I say before finally turning to look at Sirius.

Sirius is looking at me with so much pity. I can see it in his eyes, his face, and his body. His pity is the last thing that I want in this moment.

"Charlotte," Sirius whispers, "I-I had no idea. James had just always told me that your mother died in an accident when you two were five years old."

I can't help but laugh bitterly at that comment as I wipe the tears from my eyes. "That's because my father kept it from him. James thinking that our mother died in an accident was what really kept us distant for so long. I resented him for moving on so quickly and he resented me for holding on to the past. It wasn't until we sat down and really talked about our mother that we found out that James had been told something far from the truth."

Sirius runs a shaking head through his hair, making it stand up. "Why would your father lie about something like that?"

I shrug my shoulders. James and I had never confronted our father about it. I had my suspicions though as to why my father had kept the real circumstances of my mother's death hidden from the rest of the world. I reach into my bag and pull out the Daily Prophet. Looking past the picture of Edward Tonks I point to the image beside it.

"I think the reason why my father never admitted to my mother being murdered is because he was scared because this mark was left on the wall of my parents' bedroom." I say.

I turn to Sirius who glances down at the image and then back at me.

"The Dark Mark," Sirius says simply.

I nod my head.

"My mother was one of the Dark Lord's first victims." I say as I stuff the newspaper back into my book bag.

Sirius opens his mouth to say something but he is drowned out by the sound of the first bell ringing for class. Soon the hallway were Sirius and I are sitting will be filled with students going to class. Using the wall behind me for support I pull myself up off the ground and Sirius does the same. I reach down to grab my bag but Sirius beats me to it, handing the heavy bag to me.

"Thank you," I say as I sling the bag over my shoulder and adjust it slightly.

I look up at Sirius and he is staring at me intensely. Thinking I have black smudges on my face from my makeup, I reach a hand up to whip away any possible running mascara.

"You're make-up isn't running." Sirius says, giving me a lopsided smile, knowing exactly what I am doing.

"Oh," I say dropping my hand. "Good to know."

I look back up at Sirius and our eyes lock. Not expecting it he takes a sudden step forward and in order to keep from having him run into me I take a step backwards, my back hitting the wall. Sirius once again steps closer to me, our bodies now only about and inch apart.

I look up at Sirius, my eyes blinking trying to figure out what he is doing. I feel slightly uncomfortable being so close to him. Sirius reaches a hand forward, tucking a piece of stray hair behind my ear. It was a gesture I had seen him do many times before, to other girls who swooned over him. But I was not one of those girls, and he knows that. His expression is soft and he is giving me that look again that makes me feel like he can see right through me.

"Char," He says reaching a hand out and tucking another loose piece of hair behind my ear. "Thank you for trusting me enough to share with me something that must have been very difficult to remember."

I open my mouth to respond but he cuts me off.

"Thank you for giving me something to fight for." Sirius whispers.

His words confuse me.

I hear students from the Great Hall heading in our direction. Sirius steps back away from me, finally breaking our eye contact. He nods at me and I watch him as he turns and walks away from me in the direction of where the Transfiguration classroom is.

I stand there for a moment more trying to collect myself. I take a few deep breaths before I push myself off of the wall. I hear something drop on the floor beside me. I glance down and see that the letter I had received earlier and forgotten about is lying on the ground. Sighing, I lean down and pick up the letter looking to see whom it is from. There is no name or address on the back, just a strange looking crest with a phoenix. Finding that odd I flip over the front of the letter and find that I am not the only person that the letter is addressed to. Written on the front in neat script is my name as well as my brother's name. My curiosity getting the better of me I rip open the letter and pull from inside the envelope a sheet of light blue parchment paper.

I unfold the parchment and what I find written there is life altering.

**AN: Thank you to everyone who had been reading so far. I have been really enjoying writing and I am constantly coming up with exciting twists and turns. I hope y'all enjoy and please do not feel shy about reviewing. I want to hear from my readers. Have a great rest of your weekend y'all!**


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